Grate and bar therefor.



No. 668,495. Patented Feb. l9, I901. P. L. CROWE.

GRATE'AND BAR THEREFOR.

(Application filed Mar. 2, 1900.)

(No Model..=

"Mum inimjb v 3 H & i

- in'vn PAUL L. CROWE, OF DULUTH, MINNESOTA.

GRATE AND BAR THEREFOR.

$PEGIFIOATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 668,495, dated February 19, 1901.

Application filed March 2, 1900. Serial No. 7| l0- Q10 modem 20 at whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, PAUL L. OROWE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Duluth, in the county of St. Louis and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Grates and Bars Therefor; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in furnace grate-bars, and more especially to that class of grate-bars which are adapted for use in traveling grates.

The object of my invention is to provide a grate-bar which is well suited for use in connection with a chain or cable of substantially the design of a common anchor or logging chain and one which will be simple in construction, durable, and inexpensive.

My invention consists in certain novel coustructions, combinations, and arrangements of parts, as will be hereinafter fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a grate-bar constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of .two grate-bars, showing their relative positions when connected up for use in a chained grate; and Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view of a portion of a chain grate, showing the'manner in which the gratebars engage the chain and how the parts adjust themselves to the contour of the roller when passing over the same.

In a grate-bar of this type, which is to be used upon a chain or traveling grate, it is desirable to so construct it that it can be quickly attached to or detached from the chains of the grate, and yet will be so located with respect to the adjacent bars that it will not move longitudinally, so as to rub against the same, thus producing undue friction and making the air-spaces between them uneven.

In the present invention the grate bar 1 comprises a body portion having a strengthening-web 2 upon its under side and having a suitable firesupporting surface upon its upper side. I secure a very desirable firesupporting surface by forming a series of corrugations vertically arranged upon each side of the grate-bar. These corrugations or recesses preferably extend inwardly at the top of the bar to the center line of said bar and form a series of laterally-projecting teeth or fingers 4 4 throughout the length of the bar. The teeth or fingers 4: 4 upon one side of a bar are preferably arranged opposite to the spaces between the fingers on the other side of the bar, though of course they might be arranged directly opposite to each other without departing in the least from the spirit of my invention. The teeth are rounded upon their under edges, curving back to the web of the bar. The recesses are made correspondingly shallow below the top of the bar to approximately fit the contour of the fingers, as clearly shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. 4

The body portions of the grate-bars are provided at their ends with depending portions 5 5, provided with laterally-extending pins 6 6. These depending portions 5 and the pins 6 form hooks near each end of the bars for engaging the chains used in connecting up the traveling grate. preferably strengthened at the points where the hooks occur by shortening one or more of the fingers and making certain of the recesses correspondingly shallow, so that the shallow recesses in one bar will be adapted to receive the opposite shortened teeth of contiguous bars when the grate is assembled. The central portion of each grate-bar is provided upon one side of its strengthening-web 2 with a finger or projection 7, while the other side is provided with a forked or bifurcated portion 8, the line of horizontal mid-section of fork 8 being the line of longitudinal mid-section of the respective horizontal prolongations 6 6 of the hooks. The finger 7 in the same plane as bifurcated lug 8 is preferably made considerably longer than the bifurcated projection upon the other side of the web. Upon the body portion of the grate-bar and just above the hook at the end thereof are formed lateral projections 9 9, which are adapted to rest upon the links of the chains used for holding the grate-bars together. These projections 9 are very useful in that they operate to hold the body portion of the grate-bars at right angles to the chains and prevent the gratebars from tipping to one side or the other.

The grate-bars 1 are t As seen in Fig. 3 of the drawings, this style of the bar is particularly well adapted for use in a grate using a common anchor or logging chain, as 10.

In connecting up grate-bars of this kind to form a continuous traveling grate aconnecting-chain is used upon each side of the grate, the bars being connected thereto by means of the hooks near their ends. As seen in Fig. 2 of the drawings, the bars are preferably arranged sufliciently close together to permit the teeth or lateral fingers of the bars to mesh with the fingers upon the next adjacent bars. This formsa close fire-bearingsnrface adapted to carry the fuel to the best advantage, and yet secures air-spaces of sufficient size between the grate-bars. As seen in Fig. 2 also, the alternate grate-bars are arranged with their attaching-hooks extending in opposite directions. Thus the hooks in one bar will both extend in one direction, while the hooks of the next bar will both extend in the opposite direction. hen these hooks are inserted in the links of the chain 10, as seen in Fig. 3, they will enter the same from the opposite sides of the chain, and the grates will thereby lock each other against accidental displacement because of their internieshing fingers. lVhen the grate-bars are thus applied together to form a grate, the finger or projection 7 on one bar will engage the bifurcated projection 8 upon the next bar. These projections will tend to hold the grate-bars against longitudinal movement with respect to each other, so that the meshing fingers of the fire-bearing surfaces will not rub against each other, and thereby produce undesirable friction, and the air-spaces between the said fingers will be even throughout the length of the bars. The projections '7 of each bar when the bars are applied together preferably reach and remain at the center line of the grate-bars and in a line parallel with the hooks of said bars. While I preferably form the hook and the projections 9, as also the projections 7 and 8, integral with the grate-bars, it will be apparent, of course, that they might be made separate therefrom and secured thereto in any suitable manner, all within the scope of the present invention.

From the above description it will be evident that my improved grate bar is well adapted for use in forming a chain-grate and particularly Well adapted for use upon such a grate when it is connected by means of a plain inexpensive link chain of the common cable, anchor, or logging type. One or more of said bars can also easily and quickly be detached from the said chain or chains without detaching other bars from said chain and can be as quickly replaced by a new bar or bars. It will be further seen that these bars easily adapt themselves to all the movements required in a chain or traveling grate, and that they are very simple in construction, durable in quality, and comparatively inexpensive.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is

1. A grate-bar comprising a body portion having a strengthening-web beneath it, a firebearing surface comprising a series of teeth formed by vertical corrugations upon the opposite sides of the bars, and depending single hooks near both ends of the grate-bar, said hooks having chain-engaging portions extending longitudinally of the bar, and adapted to engage the links of ordinary chains for forming a traveling grate.

2. A grate-bar for traveling grates com prising a body portion, laterally-extendin fingers forming a fire-bearing surface, a depending projection near each end of the bar upon the under side thereof terminating respectively in a laterally-projecting finger, forming chain-engaging books, the hooks at both ends extending in one direction, substantially as described.

3. A grate-bar comprising a body portion having a suitable fire-bearing surface, a depending hook near each end thereof, lugs projecting from each side of the body portion of the grate-bar, adapted to rest upon the links of chains used to connect the grate-bars in a traveling grate, whereby the bars will be held in a vertical position, with respect to said chains, and the alternate links of said chain will be held at opposite angles, substantially as described.

4:- A grate-bar for traveling grates comprising a body portion, laterally-projecting teeth forming a fire-bearing surface and adapted to mesh with the teeth of adjoining bars in a grate, depending hooks upon the under sides of the said grate-bars, projections upon each side of the central body or web portions of the said bars, adapted to engage similar projections on adjoining bars, whereby the bars are prevented from moving longitudinally with respect to each other, substantially as described.

5. In a chain grate, the combination with suitable connecting-chains or chain belts, of a series of grate-bars, each having laterallyprojecting fingers forming a fire-bearing surface, chain-engaging hooks beneath each end of the grate-bars, the hooks upon one bar extending in an opposite direction from those of the adjacent bars, whereby the intermeshing teeth of the bars will operate to lock the said hooks in the chains, each of the said bars being also provided with a comparatively long projection upon one side of its web portion, and a short bifurcated projection upon the other side of said Web portion, whereby the grate-bars when applied together will be prevented, by the engagement of these projections with each other, from moving longitudinally with respect to each other, and thereby producing unnecessary friction in the operation'of the grate, substantially as described.

6. A grate-bar comprising a body portion with a strengthening-web beneath it, laterally-extending teeth or fingers forming a firebearing surface, said fingers being rounded upontheir under edges and curving back from their upper corners to said body portion, the depressions between said teeth extending at their tops to the center longitudinal line of said bar and becoming gradually more shallow below the top in approximately opposite contour to the said teeth; a depending projection near each end of said bar terminating respectively in a longitudinally-projecting finger relatively to said bar, forming a chainengaging hook near each end of the same; a lateral lug upon each side of said bar near each end thereof, and at the base of said downwardly-projecting hook portion; a lateral finger upon one side the body portion or web of said bar and preferably near the vertical center thereof, and a bifurcated lug upon the said body portion or web on the opposite side to said central finger, the horizontal mid-section of said central finger and bifurcated lug being on the horizontal mid-section plane of the horizontal portion of said hooks respectively; one or more of the lateral teeth near the hook projections being shorter than the others of the teeth in said bar and one or more of the depressions adjoining said shortened teeth being correspondingly shallower than the other depressions between the other teeth in said bar, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

PAUL L. OROWE.

Witnesses:

JAMES T. WATSON, PHINEAS AYER. 

